Religion and Churches in the Historical Narratives of Russia and Ukraine and Their Contemporary Relevance

Date: May 27, 2026, 4:00 p.m.

Location: Room 109, Landshuter Str. 4, 93047 Regensburg, Germany

Speaker: Andriy Mykhaleyko

Organizer: “Denkraum Ukraine” / “Think Space Ukraine” at the University of Regensburg, funded by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) with support from the Federal Foreign Office (AA), Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS)

Language: German

The question of the role of religion and churches in the historical narratives of Russia and Ukraine, as well as in the current war, highlights just how closely history, identity, faith, and political reality are intertwined. The event will explore how this war is inscribed in the history of the churches of Eastern Europe, what long-standing tensions between Russia and Ukraine are revealed in the process, and how historical narratives are politically mobilized today — especially, in the name of religion. In this context, the history of Eastern European Christianity offers an important lens through which to understand the motives, perceptions, and tensions shaping the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The event will feature a presentation of the book “Streit um das Kyjiwer Erbe. Religion und Kirchen im russisch-ukrainischen Krieg” (Nomos Verlag 2025, series: Society and Politics in Eastern Europe).